Communication networks are made up of numerous equipment and connections that are used to provide the various different communication services to network customers. In the art of communications, these communication services are often referred to as communication products. Communication products are provided to network customers using various different combinations of network equipment and circuits as a function of the type of communication product being provided. For example, an ISDN access path product may require a first combination of equipment and circuits between a central office and the network customer. A digital subscriber line (DSL) access path product, on the other hand, may require a second combination of equipment and circuits. In addition there is often overlap where same equipment and circuits used to provide one product are combined with other equipment and circuits to provide another product.
Present communication networks often have the ability to determine network capacity from a physical standpoint, that is, the available capacity on or within any one of the individual pieces of equipment and circuits that make up the network. Unfortunately, however, present networks do not have the ability to determine network capacity from a logical or product standpoint. In other words, they do not have the ability to determine an available number of communication products that may be provided based on the capacity of the equipment and circuits required to provide the specific products (the physical capacity within the network).
Unfortunately, to determine product capacity, a network operator must acquire the physical capacity data, e.g. data on the available capacity of the equipment and circuits within a service area that are required to provide the desired product. This data is then manually analyzed and logically modeled to determine the number of the desired product available based on the available physical capacity of the equipment and circuits.